picking teams

chapter 17: janis

hello everyone!! boo surprise friday post bc i've been at camp this week and massively overestimated what i'd be able to do on wednesday evening lol

anyway tws for this chapter are
outing mention
alcohol mention

and as always if i missed one please let me know so i can add it in!

enjoy :)

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Janis rides the high of her birthday experience for nearly a month.

Something so simple as a day with her girlfriend and gorging themselves on too much food twice in a row after a relaxing drive and sweet conversation completely revitalizes her. Damian brings up at least eighteen times how scary and irritating it is that she never stops smiling, and she wins four games in a row in spite of constantly sneaking glances at Cady cheering on the sidelines. She's adorable even on crutches.

Cady gets her cast off a week before Valentine's day and sends Janis a very excited video of her dancing around the urgent care's parking lot on both feet. Janis smiles and saves it to her camera roll just in case she needs cheering up at some point. Cady's adorable smile and her hands thrown up in the air could melt even the iciest heart.

Cady's finally back in the game that Friday. She still has to take it easy for a while, and Damian mentioned something about her having some sort of mental block now that's preventing her from doing anything backwards. Janis loathes that she can't help. Cady is clearly devastated by losing so many skills.

"Can you stay late tonight?" Janis whispers as she slips past Cady in the locker room. Cady nods surreptitiously and winks at her as she clips her bow into her hair. Janis smiles and slips out the door to head to the field.

———

Cady meets her beneath the bleachers after the game, long after everyone else has gone home and the stadium lights are shut off.

"Hey," Janis greets, jogging over to her and leaving her bag by the gate. Cady jolts a little when she hears her, but walks (on both feet!) to meet her halfway.

"Hi," she responds with a smile.

"How's the foot?" Janis asks, taking Cady into her arms and giving her a sweet kiss.

Cady returns it and winds her arms around Janis' neck. "Foot is fine, it's my head that's the problem now."

"Damian said you had a block," Janis murmurs with a nod. Cady sighs and rests her head on her chest.

"I can do everything forwards just fine, which is weird, because front skills are usually more difficult. But I can't even do a back handspring without freezing up anymore," she says sadly. "Damian's trying to help, but I keep chickening out and throwing something else."

Janis hums sadly. "You'll get it back. It'll just take time."

"I know," Cady sighs again. "Anyway. What are we doing out here?"

"We have the whole field to ourselves," Janis hums. "I... wanna teach you how to play."

"What? Play football? Jay, I don't know if you've noticed, but I have terrible hand-eye coordination," Cady giggles.

"Not for serious. Just pass around a ball a little bit. Maybe some other things," Janis shrugs. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"If you say so," Cady hums. Janis picks her up and spins her around for a second before they continue on their way. Cady's hand brushes against her arm when she puts her down, and Janis almost gasps out loud at the icy little fingers against her skin.